Morphological and molecular identifications of sea turtles <Lepidochelys olivacea> and <Eretmochelys imbricata> from the Turtle Bay of Cilacap, Indonesia

Morphological and molecular identifications of sea turtles <Lepidochelys olivacea> and <Eretmochelys imbricata> from the Turtle Bay of Cilacap, Indonesia

DNA barcoding is a powerful tool for accurately identifying marine turtle species, especially when morphological identification is challenging, owing to insufficient clues in the samples available. This study focused on two sea turtle samples of dead adults washed ashore and babies hatching out from nests, which pose a challenge for morphological identification. They represented two species, the Olive Ridley Turtle Lepidochelys olivacea and Hawk…